43 lines
		
	
	
		
			1.1 KiB
		
	
	
	
		
			Markdown
		
	
	
	
	
	
		
		
			
		
	
	
			43 lines
		
	
	
		
			1.1 KiB
		
	
	
	
		
			Markdown
		
	
	
	
	
	
|   | --- | ||
|  | title: Ruby Hash | ||
|  | --- | ||
|  | ## Ruby Hash
 | ||
|  | 
 | ||
|  | A hash represents a collection of distinct key, value pairs. It is also called associative arrays. To create a hash in Ruby , use curly brackets and separate each key-value pair with comma. | ||
|  | 
 | ||
|  | ```ruby | ||
|  | my_hash = {:key1 => "value", :key2 => "value2"} | ||
|  | ``` | ||
|  | 
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|  | You can create a hash in the following ways | ||
|  | 
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|  | ```ruby | ||
|  | my_hash = Hash.new  # with empty hash | ||
|  | my_hash = {:key1 => "value", :key2 => "value2"} # with key's and value's defined | ||
|  | ``` | ||
|  | 
 | ||
|  | You can access the value of key in a hash with square brackets and key references | ||
|  | 
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|  | ```ruby | ||
|  | my_hash[:key1]  # value | ||
|  | my_hash[:key2]  # value2 | ||
|  | ``` | ||
|  | 
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|  | You can assign a new key and value for an already defined hash  | ||
|  | ```ruby | ||
|  | my_hash[:key3] = "value3" # {:key1=>"value", :key2=>"value2", :key3=>"value3"} | ||
|  | ``` | ||
|  | 
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|  | You can check how many elements a hash has with the `length` method: | ||
|  | 
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|  | ```ruby | ||
|  | my_hash.length # 2 | ||
|  | ``` | ||
|  | 
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|  | 
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|  | You can also create integers as hash key but the syntax is different from the usual one | ||
|  | 
 | ||
|  | ```ruby | ||
|  | my_hash = {1: "value"} # will raise an exception | ||
|  | my_hash = {1 => "value"} # will create hash with corresponding key value pair | ||
|  | ``` |